Twisted Frame
by Nonnihil Scelestus
Summary: The evidence said she was guilty, but she had a solid alibi. She was framed.


Disclaimer: I don't own SVU, I only wish I did. Spoilers for the season 11 episode "Perverted".

This is a bit AU; I kept the basic idea for the episode but with some major changes.

**Twisted Frame**

When IAB came to arrest her, she was surprised, too surprised to really comprehend what was going on, until they read her rights to her. Everyone leapt to her defense, telling her to keep her mouth shut and wait until her lawyer arrived. Lt. Tucker looked surprised at their vehement defense but managed to cover his emotions quickly. She waived her rights and asked for an interview. John leaned in and whispered in her ear when Tucker wasn't looking. She nodded quickly. Tucker looked at her suspiciously for a moment. He'd seen her head movement, but not John's. He led her away, into an interrogation room. Fin looked at his partner, giving him a steely glare.

"Are you sure you want to go down that road?" He asked.

"We knew the risks when we got involved. She'll tell him the truth though. I wasn't there, but that we talked on the phone for quite a while because she couldn't sleep." John answered.

"Yeah, but what else are they gonna find out if you give them that much. They'll dump the phone records to her house and cell. They'll know without her even saying more than that." Fin argued.

"As I said we knew the risks." Fin shook his head and walked away.

"Where were you, at the time of the murder of Clyde Vandyne?" Tucker asked.

"I was home. I've been sick." She answered.

"Can anyone verify that?"

"I was on the phone for several hours. I made a call around 9. We talked until almost 2 AM."

"But you said you were sick. Wouldn't you have been sleeping?"

"I couldn't sleep. I'm not used to…" She trailed off.

"Not used to what, Detective Benson?"

"I'm not used to sleeping alone anymore."

"So you called your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend. But yes. We usually stay at my place because my apartments bigger, but he hasn't been since I've been sick. I didn't want him to catch it too. We don't sleep well when were not together. So I called him and we talked until we were both to tired to stay awake."

"Were you on your cell phone, or your apartment phone?"

"The apartment phone. My cell was charging."

"That's a pretty solid alibi, but we have DNA."

"Well then something isn't right, because I didn't kill Clyde Vandyne. I have no idea who he is and I was on the phone."

"Who were you talking to? I'd like him to confirm you story."

"I'd prefer not to disclose his name."

"You know we'll find out anyway, from your phone records."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to tell you."

Captain Cragen watched from the viewing room and smirked over his detective's attitude. Tucker came out.

"I want her phone records pulled for her apartment and her cell."

"Sure, as soon as you get a warrant for them." Tucker looked disgusted and put out.

"Fine" He mumbled to Cragen's back as he walked into the bullpen. Cragen pulled John aside.

"You know they're going to find your name when they pull her phone records and while she didn't say you were her boyfriend, she implied it. Its going to be a whole new circus after we prove her innocence if we don't do it before they pull those records."

"I know, Captain. I'm prepared to deal with it. I've put enough years now that I can retire on two pensions if I have to. I'm only a few years away from mandatory anyway. Its ok, we knew the risks and we're prepared to deal with the consequences." John answered.

"You know the rest of us will have to play dumb, especially me?"

"I know, Don. Its fine." The Captain nodded and went to check on Fin and Elliot. The M.E. came in with a big smile on her face.

"I have some good news for you." Melinda said as soon as everyone was gathered around, including Lt. Tucker. "The DNA was faked. There's a process used to find genetic abnormalities. It scrubs the DNA. It can be resequenced after that, altered to be anybody's. That's what was done to the DNA from the crime scene. Detective Benson was framed."

"Still want her phone records? The Captain asked Tucker."

"That will not be necessary. She's free to go, but she is not allowed to participate in this case." The Captain nodded in acceptance of the terms and gave John a pointed look. He went back to the interrogation room to let Olivia know. They returned almost immediately. She smiled at Warner. Tucker stomped away. When he was gone, Olivia smiled happily.

"I could kiss you, Melinda." She said.

"I'll settle for a hug and for you to go home and get some rest. You look like hell." Melinda answered.

"I think I can manage that. I feel pretty bad too."

"John, you take Olivia home and stay with her. Since she was framed, the responsible party might try to get at her. Fin, you work with Melinda on this DNA angle. Elliot, the biker club, find the connections. Get to work."

"Captain." Olivia called softly, pulling his attention back to her.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." She impulsively threw her arms around him and hugged him close. The Captain returned her embrace warmly. She was the closest thing to a daughter he had.

"Anytime. Now get out of here." He answered gruffly.

John waited until they were in the car before he took her hand and kissed it. Olivia smiled at him. She couldn't wait until they were home. She needed to be wrapped up in him. They made it to her apartment without incident. Elliot had called in for a car to be parked outside her building, and with John inside, she felt safe and so vey tired. John put her straight to bed, holding her until she fell asleep. He checked in with Fin while he made tea. He heard someone knocking at the door, but it was only one of the officers from the car needing a bathroom break.

Two hours later, Olivia was awake again. She stared at the ceiling, but couldn't fall back asleep. Without her lover there, it was hard to sleep, her body used to another person in the bed. She got up and was making her way down the hall when there was a knock at the door. She was about to answer it when the phone rang. She called out for the person to wait as she tried to answer the phone. Whoever was at the door broke it open. John was in the kitchen and unseen for the time being. The guy went after Olivia, lunging for her, but she ducked back and closed the bedroom door. John came up behind him and pressed his gun to the man's head.

"Freeze." He ordered. Olivia got her personal weapon from her drawer and opened the bedroom door and aimed at the mans head for additional coverage. John took the taser and the gun he was hiding beneath his shirt.

"You know it was very stupid to frame a cop." He said, his voice eerily cold and calm. "We protect our own."

"Its her fault! She put me away and that bastard, Clyde, raped me in prison! She told him to! She said they'd love me in prison, that all those inmates, love kiddy rapists, and he raped me! He deserved what he got, and you, you bitch, you deserve to know what it feels like! Its all your fault!" The man raged. Elliot raced up the stairs and burst into the apartment then. He saw the set up and had to smile.

"Thanks for doing all the hard work, John." He said laughingly.

"Anytime Stabler. Now could you get the piece of shit out of here, he's disturbing the peace."

"Sure thing. Liv, you alright?"

"I'm good. " He nodded and pulled the man out with him. John shut the door behind him. The frame was a little twisted, but it would be fixed by the next day.

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

"No, not in the last few hours or so."

"Well I love you more than anything in the world and I don't think I could ever live without you."

"I love you too John."

"Good because we came awful close today, to letting the cat out of the bag."

"I know, and we would have face that just like we face everything else. Together."

"I guess we're ok then, until the next tie someone frames you, anyway."

"Until someone frames you, you mean. It your turn."

"If you insist."

"I don't. How about we just skip next time"

"Agreed, wholeheartedly. Now, lets see about getting you a new door, so we can actually sleep in peace tonight."

"Sure. Just one thing though."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think the team has figured out we're married yet?"

"They have no idea just how close we really are."

A/N: This implies an very established John/Olivia relationship. Also, whoever catches the reference to the title in the story gets a very large imaginary cupcake.


End file.
